Unearthing Durward Kirby

The heyday of Durward Kirby (1911-2000) was just a hair before my time. I heard the name as a point of cultural reference on TV shows like Rocky and Bullwinkle and Phyllis and Bewitched when I was a kid, but beyond the fact that it was a funny-sounding name (often mispronounced), it did not resonate. He was still a public figure in the early 1970s, but winding it down.

The short answer to who he was, was the announcer and sidekick to Garry Moore for just about the entirety of his career. He started out with Moore on a radio show out of Chicago called Club Matinee in the ’40s. He moved with Moore to television on The Garry Moore Show, playing his second banana, pitching products, announcing, and playing characters in comedy sketches, from 1949 through 1968, over 400 episodes. His connection with Moore continued as a panelist on To Tell the Truth (a dozen episodes between 1969 and 1974). He also appeared several times on the variety show of Carol Burnett, who had also been a regular on Moore’s show.

Derby’s other major claim to fame was co-hosting Candid Camera with Alan Funt from 1961 to 1966. He was also briefly the announcer on Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Standing 6’4″, Kirby was a big lummox of a country boy who had grown up in Kentucky, later moving to Indianapolis, where he spent a year at Purdue before getting bit by the radio bug. He worked at a variety of local midwestern stations starting in the mid ’30s, covering the news, as well as participating in entertainment programs. Among his early jobs was announcing the 1938 network radio adaptation of Li’l Abner.

In the ’50s Kirby also free-lanced as a jobbing announcer on various live tv shows in addition to his steady gigs, and made appearances on programs likeThe Jackie Gleason Show,The Red Skelton Hour, I’ve Got a Secret, What’s My Line?, and Match Game. On the off seasons he played roles in summer stock.

Durward Kirby retired from television in 1974 at the age of 63. He then proceeded to live nearly another quarter century.

For more aboutshow biz history consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.